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Mystery religions, mystery cults, sacred mysteries or simply mysteries (Greek: μυστήρια), were religious schools of the Greco-Roman world for which participation was reserved to initiates (mystai). The main characteristic of these religious schools was the secrecy associated with the particulars of the initiation and the ritual practice ...
In the Greco-Roman world, the mystery religions were those that required initiation, as distinguished from public rites that were open to all; the Greek word for "mystery", mysterion, comes from mystēs, "initiate." (The contemporary English meaning of "something unknown or hard to know" developed from the secrecy surrounding the arcane ...
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Roman statue of Isis, second century CE. Greco-Roman mysteries were voluntary, secret initiation rituals. [2] They were dedicated to a particular deity or group of deities, and used a variety of intense experiences, such as nocturnal darkness interrupted by bright light, or loud music or noise, that induced a state of disorientation and an intense religious experience.
Roman religion was based on knowledge rather than faith, [131] but superstitio was viewed as an "inappropriate desire for knowledge"; in effect, an abuse of religio. [129] In the everyday world, many individuals sought to divine the future, influence it through magic, or seek vengeance with help from "private" diviners.
Mithraism, also known as the Mithraic mysteries or the Cult of Mithras, was a Roman mystery religion centered on the god Mithras. Although inspired by Iranian worship of the Zoroastrian divinity ( yazata ) Mithra , the Roman Mithras was linked to a new and distinctive imagery, and the level of continuity between Persian and Greco-Roman practice ...
Parker said he is optimistic that the mystery will be solved because this dodecahedron was found in an archaeological excavation area, whereas “many of those that were found 200 or 300 years ago ...
The Derveni krater, height: 90.5 cm (35 ½ in.), 4th century BC. The Dionysian Mysteries of mainland Greece and the Roman Empire are thought to have evolved from a more primitive initiatory cult of unknown origin (perhaps Thracian or Phrygian) which had spread throughout the Mediterranean region by the start of the Classical Greek period.